-The Lead: The Clark University baseball team picked up their second win of the season in their first game on Friday morning over the Mariners of Mitchell College. The

HOW IT HAPPENED

-After a 1,2,3 top of the first inning, junior Andrew Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) led off with a single up the middle for Clark. Junior Derek Lefebvre (Groton, Mass.) sent a homer over the left field fence to put two runs on the board for the early 2-0 lead.

-Junior Collin Porter (Brookfield, Conn.) started things off in the bottom of the second with a lead-off single that snuck up the left field line. First year Andrea Casabianca (Yonkers, N.Y.) sent a hard hit ball up the middle that was stopped by the diving second baseman, but he was unable to make the tough play from the ground as Porter made it to second. With a 1-2 count junior Dylan Horn (Sterling, Conn.) doubled up the right field line to score Porter and Casabianca for the 4-0 lead.

-With one out on the board Porter doubled to right field on the first pitch of his at bat in the bottom of the third, but a pitching change for Mitchell brought Justin Lukas (West Yarmouth, Mass.) to the mound who clinched the last two outs of the inning leaving Porter on third.

-The Mariners got on the board in the top of the seventh when senior Steven Pagan (Oceanside, Calif.) started things off with a single up the middle. He found his way to third on a field error by the cougars and later crossed home when his classmate Peter Abate (Wallingford, Conn.) sent a long sacrifice fly ball to left field (4-1).

-Mitchell put two runners on base in the top of the eighth with Pagan at bat as the tying run, but Horn made the catch for the last out as the Cougars headed into the bottom of the inning with the 4-1 lead.

-Junior Zach Kelley (Hadley, Mass.) heated things up in the bottom of the eighth with a lead-off triple to deep right field. Sophomore Chris Radovic (Fairfield, Conn.) sent a hard line drive to left field to score Kelley for the 5-1 advantage and final victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

-Clark was led by Horn who was 1-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, and Lefebvre who finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Porter wrapped up the game 2-for-4 while Thibault finished 2-for-3. The Cougars posted nine hits on 33 total at bats.

-Mitchell was led by Abate who went 2-for-3 with their lone RBI of the game. The Mariners finished with four hits in 32 at bats.

-Senior Cal Slepkow (Rehoboth, Mass.) earned the win on the mound for Clark as he improves to 2-0 this season. He pitched all nine innings, allowed just four hits, and struck out nine batters.

-Junior Drew Daley (Brooklyn, Conn.) took the loss on the mound for Mitchell as he went 3.1 innings, allowed six hits, four runs, and struck out six batters.

GAME TWO: Clark University vs. Suffolk University

-Score:

-Records: Clark (2-3), Suffolk

-Location: Auburndale, Fla. (Lake Myrtle Park)

-The Lead:

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Junior Rich Gilbride (Beverky, Mass.) started things off with a lead-off single for the Rams before sophomore Will Hopkins (Old Rochester, Mass.) ripped a tripled to right center field to send the first run of the game across home (1-0). Senior Trevor Lee (Flanders, N.J.) kept the run going with a single that fell into left field and sent Hopkins home for the 2-0 lead. The Rams added one more run when Lee came home to take a 3-0 lead after one.

-The Cougars left two runners on base in the top of the second when senior Worth Walrod (Dedham, Mass.) struck out his fourth batter of the day to preserve the 3-0 lead.

-With two outs on the board in the bottom of the second, Gilbride homered over the left field fence to extend the Ram's lead to 4-0 heading into the third inning.

-Clark got on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Kelley started things off getting on base by a walk. Radovic singled to left field to move him into scoring position and junior Nick Jordan (Seaford, N.Y.) singled through the left side to send Kelley home (4-1). With no outs still, Porter came up to bat and dropped a hit into left field to allow Kelley to come home and bring Clark within two (4-2). The Cougars kept the rally going when Jordan advanced home on a balk and Horn singled to left center to score Porter from second (4-4). The Cougars and Rams headed into the bottom of the fourth tied at four.

-The Cougars took their first lead of the game in the top of the fifth when a fielding error by the Rams allowed Lefebvre to come home (5-4). Radovic also crossed home on a Suffolk error in the fifth as the Cougars pulled ahead 6-4 heading into the sixth.

-A single from Horn kicked off the sixth inning and Lefebvre singled to left field to score him for the 7-4 lead.

-Suffolk added a run in the bottom of the seventh when Gilbride lined the ball just over the glove of Horn to score sophomore Shane Lake (West Roxbury, Mass.) and close the gap to two, 7-5.

-The Rams had two runners on base in the bottom of the nineth, but sophomore Nick Guarino (New Haven, Conn.) was able to strike out Gilbride for the final out of the game as the Cougars held on for the 7-5 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

-Clark was led by Radovic finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Horn had a 2-for-4 day at the plate with one RBI while Lefebvre, Jordan, and Porter all finished with one hit and one RBI each.

-Gilbride led the Rams going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

-Guarino earned the win on the mound for Clark. He pitched eight innings, allowed seven hits, five runs (four earned), and struck out four batters. He improves to 1-0 this season.

-Walrod took the loss on the mound going 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, six runs (four earned), and striking out six batters. Tyler Zell came in for the final 4.1 innings, allowed three hits, one earned run, and struck out three batters.

-The Cougars collected eight hits in 37 at bats while the Rams put up five hits in their 34 at bats.

UP NEXT

-Clark takes on Penn State Abington on Saturday, March 9th in their final game in Florida at 9:15 a.m. They will be at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.